geospyder wrote:Oldguy - presumming you are over 60 - then how about this for a spin (no pun intended). By stealing our ( yes, I'm over 60) bikes the thief is forcing us to walk. Thus the term abuse comes into play. In Nevada certain crimes against the elderly (over 60) have enhanced sentencing - twice the normal sentence. Don't mess with us old guys!

Hahahaha are you telling me that stealing a bike that happens to be an older persons bike, is a crime against the elderly? I think its a crime in general. But not a crime against the elderly.

I'm not so sure thats the way it works... Stealing is wrong no matter how you look at it... But that sounds to me like if you stole a black persons bike that its a racist hate crime. Doesn't make too much sense.

Again don't get me wrong. Stealing is wrong all around no matter how you look at it.

geospyder wrote:Oldguy - presumming you are over 60 - then how about this for a spin (no pun intended). By stealing our ( yes, I'm over 60) bikes the thief is forcing us to walk. Thus the term abuse comes into play. In Nevada certain crimes against the elderly (over 60) have enhanced sentencing - twice the normal sentence. Don't mess with us old guys!

Hahahaha are you telling me that stealing a bike that happens to be an older persons bike, is a crime against the elderly? I think its a crime in general. But not a crime against the elderly.

I'm not so sure thats the way it works... Stealing is wrong no matter how you look at it... But that sounds to me like if you stole a black persons bike that its a racist hate crime. Doesn't make too much sense.

Again don't get me wrong. Stealing is wrong all around no matter how you look at it.

People were starting to post about Nevada law and since Oldguy was one of the posters I thought Iâ€™d add the one about crimes against the elderly. Without any emoticons my post didnâ€™t sound as tongue in cheek as it was meant to be. Only 18 more wake ups - presumming you get any sleep on day 17

You know it's going to be a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.

[quote="wedeliver"][quote="seantildawn"]In 2001, on the night of the burn, I met some girls at around 3am in Center Camp. Later, one of them was tired and wanted to go back to her camp so I volunteered to walk her back. She grabbed her bike off the rack and we left. When I went to their camp the next morning to say goodbye, they were packing up and all worried about something. It was the bike Jenny walked back with me. It was not hers. It was a black 26" mountain bike alright but not the cheap one she arrived with. It was some sick full suspension Gary Fisher job. What to do?

I figured keep it. There was no intent to steal and back then, if you tossed it back, it's gone to the next person but not the real owner.

She still owns it and rides it to this day.

Don't bring expensive bikes to the playa. If you must, lock it up. Not everyone is a thief and bikes look similar at 4am in the dust. Bikes are so cheap, there is no excuse to bring your everyday one.[/quote]

You are a thief. You should have taken it back to where you stole it from and left it there so the owner could have found it.

Please do not come to Burning Man.

and, and, Your thief friend Jenny left her bike there for the crews to have to clean up.. her "cheap one". People like you and your friend make burning man not so fun for others with your thoughtless actions.

Now send me $400.00 for my bike you stole.[/quote]

I just saw this now. Funny.

In 1998 people burned couches in place. Things exploded around you randomly. People drove motorcycles around at night on mushrooms. There is still Black Rock City. Times change.I would never advocate keeping a bike in 2012 or 2009, but in 2001, it was what it was. There was no malicious intent. It is not theft. It was a mistake. Why give the bike to some random BMORG employee? The woman that got it wasn't no spectator. The person who lost it probably was. Heh. I like to think that.

In 1998 people burned couches in place. Things exploded around you randomly. People drove motorcycles around at night on mushrooms. There is still Black Rock City. Times change.I would never advocate keeping a bike in 2012 or 2009, but in 2001, it was what it was.

Yeah, and back in the day we had segregated schools too, and beatin' yo' woman was fine if she didn't have dinner on the table at 5PM. It was what it was, and what it was was fundamentally degenerate behavior and thinking regardless of what people thought of it at the time. We've just wised up to the fact and cleaned up our act. Don't apologize for the degeneracy of the past.

There was no malicious intent. It is not theft. It was a mistake.

The initial accident of taking the wrong bike was the mistake. Taking that bike home was the theft, regardless of whatever lame rationalization used. You know, like the rationalization you provided below.

Why give the bike to some random BMORG employee? The woman that got it wasn't no spectator. The person who lost it probably was. Heh. I like to think that.

Maybe so the original owner could find it? Or call up BMOrg or stick around after to see if a bike matching the description was found? I remember when my bike got stolen I went looking around center camp to see if the thief maybe had a change of heart and left it there after the joyride. Maybe the thief thought the same way as you.

Do you apply this rationalization to stuff you accidentally walk out of stores with? "Well shit, no malicious intent, it's okay to keep it." IT IS WHAT IT IS!

Yeah, you like to think that.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

Just take the seat off when not in use & replace it with a pin cushion. Seriously thiugh, I just picked up a cable combo lock with a built in light. I hadn't thought of that. Now the question is will the dust destroy the lock? Will WD40 be enough to keep it working?

In your wildest dreams you can not imagine the marvelous SURPRISES that await YOU.

FlyingMonkey wrote:Just take the seat off when not in use & replace it with a pin cushion. Seriously thiugh, I just picked up a cable combo lock with a built in light. I hadn't thought of that. Now the question is will the dust destroy the lock? Will WD40 be enough to keep it working?

Where did you get the cable combo lock with built-in light at? Dry film lubricant is the best (for your bike only!)

With chain being so 'spensive, I gave away 2 padlocks with 1 foot of chain last year. A foot is plenty enough to wrap around one of the pedal arms and the frame or to thread thru the cranks. I bought 12 feet this year.

He's a mystery wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma, painted in hot pants. - SavannahPropane ToysHow to do it wrong:

In 1998 people burned couches in place. Things exploded around you randomly. People drove motorcycles around at night on mushrooms. There is still Black Rock City. Times change.I would never advocate keeping a bike in 2012 or 2009, but in 2001, it was what it was.

Yeah, and back in the day we had segregated schools too, and beatin' yo' woman was fine if she didn't have dinner on the table at 5PM. It was what it was, and what it was was fundamentally degenerate behavior and thinking regardless of what people thought of it at the time. We've just wised up to the fact and cleaned up our act. Don't apologize for the degeneracy of the past.

There was no malicious intent. It is not theft. It was a mistake.

The initial accident of taking the wrong bike was the mistake. Taking that bike home was the theft, regardless of whatever lame rationalization used. You know, like the rationalization you provided below.

Why give the bike to some random BMORG employee? The woman that got it wasn't no spectator. The person who lost it probably was. Heh. I like to think that.

Maybe so the original owner could find it? Or call up BMOrg or stick around after to see if a bike matching the description was found? I remember when my bike got stolen I went looking around center camp to see if the thief maybe had a change of heart and left it there after the joyride. Maybe the thief thought the same way as you.

Do you apply this rationalization to stuff you accidentally walk out of stores with? "Well shit, no malicious intent, it's okay to keep it." IT IS WHAT IT IS!

Yeah, you like to think that.

There is this thing called 'lost & found'.

In 2006, I didn't have a bike but was camping with Cafe, and they had a bunch of playa bikes from the previous year's leftovers and offered me one. I just had to take it to the bike repair camp and get air in the tires, etc. So I did and had a beater bike. for two days. Went into a porta to pee and came out to no bike. I stood around bitching to others around me-I can believe someone took the damn thing, I was only in there a minute! Someone asked me 'what did it look like?' 'blue beater mountain bike with a stuffed bunny on the handle. It was right next to...that one'. 'That one' was a high end blue mountain bike, somewhat similar to mine in the way that a $1,000 dusty blue mountain bike is like a dusty beater blue mountain bike. The people I was talking to suggested that, even though it was broad daylight, some wastrel with a really expensive bike may have mistook mine for his/hers. Or some wastrel borrowed a campmate's bike and grabbed the wrong one coming out of the portos. I've only gone to BM sober, so I forget how fucked up people are.

I waited for 45 more minutes to see if anyone came back looking for their bike. I got really tired of waiting. No one claimed the bike. So I took it-they took my bike, so I was out a bike-oh fucking sweet ride! It was everything the beater wasn't. But went right down to playa info and posted in lost and found "To the idiot that grabbed my beater bike at xxx time at xxx portos and left their (brand name) bike" and left my address, who I was, described my van, described my bike and asked them to bring back my bike. Told the rest of the camp what happened. No one came back for the bike the whole burn....damn this bike even had shock absorbers....it was sweet. Since I came without a bike, I didn't have a lock, and never had an issue. The bike was always wherever I left it. Sunday night, I went to sleep with the bike leaning outside the van. If it was still there in the morning it was mine-I wasn't going to leave it on the playa like trash. Woke up at 6am to beat exodus, and the bike was gone.

Whether it was stolen again (but unlikely in Cafe Village), or the owner finally went to lost & found and grabbed it back, I don't know. But they didn't bring back mine!

AzJames wrote:Where did you get the cable combo lock with built-in light at? Dry film lubricant is the best (for your bike only!)

I found a lighted bike lock at REI of all places. I was intrigued for about 3 seconds, then realized it was just something else to break on me out there. I have enough lights on me in the playa to see the combination.

I needed a second lock this year, so I went out on a quick errand to pick one up. Sheesh. I must have gone to 4 stores looking for a bike lock that was;

A) Flexible (I hate trying to pull those stiff, pig tail-style coiled locks through a frame only to have the end snap back on me.)B) A combination I can set myself (obvious reasons..."4-3-2-7? Shit. 4-7-2-3? Shit. 4-2-7-3? Shit. Fuck it, I'm walking.)and C) Lightweight (if someone is going to lug bolt-cutters to the playa with bolt-cutters, they can have my piece of junk bike.)

I had no luck at all, which was really surprising. I finally had to compromise on my first criteria. However, as a bonus the dial had letters, not numbers, so I could create my own word combination. So of course I thought I would be incredibly witty and make it be a bad word. (No one has thought of that before, right?) They must design those locks with a word scramble algorithm because not having a "c" for the third letter makes it difficult to find a naughty word.

The python cable usa version works but is keyed.They hold up to the playa.Adjustable.

14" chinese cutters will go right through the cable though.All the decent cables I know of are pricey.

Yeah I wouldn't trust these to stop an actual bike thief out on the street, but the vast majority of playa thefts are done out of laziness. As others have mentioned, if the asshole trying to steal a bike can't take off with it immediately, he/she will move on to the next one. That fact, coupled with the amazingly compact size and seemingly quick lock/unlock makes this the perfect playa bike lock.